Get Rid of Those Fire Ants!

Every spring we cover this issue because every spring we confront this problem.
These pests are not native to the United States but were accidentally imported from South America in 1918 and introduced first in Mobile, Alabama. Since then they have spread to all the southeastern states and continue to trek west.
They are ruthless critters, invasive and destructive. If you have never encountered these tiny beasts, one of the most important things you should know is that a fire ant bite HURTS! If you’ve ever stepped in a fire ant mound you know this first hand that they got their name from the burning, stinging pain inflicted by the bite, and the blister that forms afterwards. If you’ve ever had a child fall into a fire ant mound, you’ve felt their pain. Fire ants mound up over light fixtures or get inside causing tremendous damage; they also invade transformers and destroy them.
Light fixtures, no matter how good they are, are no match for these creatures, and a manufacturer warranty does not cover damage by fire ants. This is why it is so important to treat your southern property for these pests. If you take care of your own property, I recommend that you get yourself a broadcast spreader and some Over-N-Out from your local hardware or home improvement store and apply according to directions. Preventative treatment against fire ant damage will certainly save you the expense and inconvenience of replacing part of your lighting system and a costly transformer.
I have personally used Over-N-Out in my yard every year for the past four years and I have a LOT of lights at my house. One problem I don’t have however is Fire Ants.
For more information about fire ants, click here: http://fireant.tamu.edu/ or http://fireant.tamu.edu/broadcastbait/products/overnout.cfm
Knowing your lawn is safe from the pain and destruction of fire ants will help you enjoy your outdoor spaces and landscape lighting even more in the months to come!

Protect Your Trees, PLEASE

Fastening wires to trees for lighting should not have to hurt the tree. Unfortunately, many contractors simply use staples because it is fast, easy and cheap, without giving any consideration to the health of the tree or the future cost of maintenance.
The proper way to attach wire to trees is by using nylon zip ties with stainless steel screws.

First, stainless steel will not poison the tree as other metals will. Next, as the living tree grows the screws can be manually backed out of the tree so that the tree won’t end up growing around the staple and wire. If for some reason an unusually long time goes by between maintenance visits, a tree may grow around the stainless steel screw. Although the tree won’t be damaged by this, the nylon zip tie will break and the wire will hang free. This is actually a good thing as it prevents the wire from being swallowed by the expanding bark and causing a short in the wire – which will hurt the tree. The wire then has to be cut and replaced, costing more money and the inconvenience of the loss of lighting service from the damaged wire. Ouch!
Here is an example of what can happen if wire or fixtures are not attached properly.

Bottom line: be mindful of your trees. Ask the prospective lighting contractor how they plan to attach the wire to your living landscape décor when installing down light fixtures. We’ll talk about the attachment of the fixtures in another blog post.  www.night-scenes.com